CHICAGO, June 2, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Medical Association (AMA) today named James L. Madara, M.D., as its new Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Madara will assume leadership of the nation's oldest and largest physician group on July 1.

Dr. Madara, 60, is an accomplished academic medical center physician, medical scientist and administrator who served as Timmie Professor and Chair of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the Emory University School of Medicine before assuming the Thompson Distinguished Service Professorship and deanship at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, where he was the longest serving Pritzker dean in the last 35 years. Subsequently, he added the responsibility of CEO of the University of Chicago Medical Center, bringing together the university's biomedical research, teaching and clinical activities. As CEO, he engineered significant new affiliations with community hospitals, teaching hospital systems, community Federally Qualified Health Centers on Chicago's South Side, as well as with national research organizations including the Janelia Campus of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Bethesda and the Ludwig Foundation of New York.

"The AMA is a venerable institution, and I am honored to lead it during this challenging and exciting time," Dr. Madara said. "The AMA has been at the forefront working to improve public health, physician practice, patient care and our American health care system for the past 164 years. Today more than ever, America's patients and physicians need a strong and vibrant AMA to tackle the many challenges facing them. I look forward to leveraging my skills and experience to help the AMA succeed and fulfill its core mission to promote the art and science of medicine and the betterment of public health."

While at the University of Chicago from 2002-2009, Dr. Madara oversaw a significant renewal of the institution's biomedical campus, including the Comer Children's Hospital, the Gordon Center for Integrative Science, a new adult hospital pavilion, and the Knapp Center for Biomedical Discovery. His deanship also extended to the University's renowned Biological Sciences Division.

"The American Medical Association is thrilled to have a proven medical leader like Dr. Madara serve as our next EVP/CEO," said Ardis D. Hoven, M.D., chair, AMA Board of Trustees. "Dr. Madara is a strong strategic thinker and planner who has a track record of bringing people together to accomplish significant, ambitious, health-related goals and projects. Having overseen a $1.6 billion integrated academic medical center, Dr. Madara understands many of the complex clinical, academic and business-related issues confronting medicine and health care today. His insight and perspective will be invaluable in helping the AMA tackle its agenda."

Dr. Madara is a noted academic pathologist and an authority on epithelial cell biology and on gastrointestinal disease. He has published more than 200 original papers and chapters, making important contributions to understanding the biology of the cells that line the digestive tract. His work has garnered both national and international awards.

Dr. Madara has served as President of the American Board of Pathology, as Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Pathology, has received a prestigious MERIT Award from the NIH, has been elected to membership in the Association of American Physicians, and recently received the Davenport Award for lifetime achievement in gastrointestinal disease from the American Physiological Society.

Most recently, Dr. Madara served as senior advisor with Leavitt Partners, a highly innovative health care consulting firm started by former Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt.

Dr. Madara earned his medical degree from Hahnemann Medical College in Philadelphia. He completed his internship and residency at New England Deaconess Hospital in Boston. He subsequently completed a fellowship in anatomy and cell biology at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston (now Brigham and Women's Hospital). Following his fellowship, Dr. Madara joined the faculty of Harvard Medical School where he rose to a full tenured professor and served as director of the Harvard Digestive Diseases Center.

Dr. Madara is married to Vicki M. Madara. They have two children: Alexis and Max.

About the American Medical Association (AMA)

The American Medical Association helps doctors help patients by uniting physicians nationwide to work on the most important professional, public health and health policy issues. The nation's largest physician organization plays a leading role in shaping the future of medicine. For more information on the AMA, please visit www.ama-assn.org. Follow AMA on Twitter at https://twitter.com/AmerMedicalAssn